Odd Squad DVD: Dance Like Nobody's Watching

** A Geek Daddy received the featured product for free to review**

My daughter's favorite television show is ODD SQUAD on PBS Kids and she wants to rush home from school everyday so she won't miss an episode.  Now I have to say that this is an applaudable selection not just because of ODD SQUAD'S educational focus but also because its episodes are so witty and well written that my wife and I will often find ourselves regularly joining our kids in watching the show because we also find it amusing and enjoyable to watch.  So our entire family was excited to receive the new ODD SQUAD dvd "Dance Like Nobody's Watching" which is now available to purchase on the Shop PBS online store and at various other retailers.

This dvd will let our kids watch some of their favorite ODD SQUAD episodes whenever they want.  "Dance Like Nobody's Watching" features 6 episodes from ODD SQUAD that all have a mathematical themed story and each feature musical numbers:

“Soundcheck”
Olive and Otto must figure out how and why things are disappearing around town when all Otto wants to do is listen to a song by his favorite band, Soundcheck.

“Soundcheck Part Deux”
When the members of Soundcheck go missing, Otto and Olive must bring them back together in time for their big concert. Otto uses his special superfan closet to help collect data to solve the case.

“A Case of the Sing-Alongs”
When Mayor Macklemore catches a case of the Sing-A-Longs, Olive and Otto must discover the cause before the Mayor sings his way out of his job!

“O is Not for Old”
The agents throw a surprise party for Ms. O and are having trouble making decisions about the details. They send O’Malley to delay Ms. O by various means while they try to figure them out.

“Mystic Egg Pizza”
With the help of Odd Squad, Delivery Debbie and Delivery Doug must figure out why their food is disappearing.

I have to warn you that my kids have memorized the songs from these episodes and you could find yourself humming these tunes, like "Take Away 4" in the car or at work.  My kids favorites are the ones sung by Soundcheck.  Hmm I wonder if it is ODD that my kids are such big fans of a fictional boy band when they really don't care for the real musical performances?  Anyway the musical numbers are actually pretty catchy, especially the big Sing-Alongs episode finale, and reinforce educational math concepts which is definitely a good thing.



Geared for children ages 5-8, ODD SQUAD follows two young agents, Olive and Otto, who are part of an agency led by Ms. O that seeks to save the day using math when odd things happen.



PBS has also created a free augmented reality app for iPads and iPhones to go with the DVD.  As they release additional ODD SQUAD dvds, you will be able to scan each individual package to unlock a unique gadget with its own special abilities. For this particular dvd, the musical changeinator is made available from the ODD SQUAD laboratory to play around with.

Open the app and scan the back side of the dvd package.

Ms. O's favorite thing in the whole wide world will appear - a juice box.

Shoot the juice box with the musical changeinator and it will start dancing to a soundtrack playing from your device and emitting special effects on the screen.

You can also move the juice box around utilizing the camera in your mobile device so that it can interact with your surroundings.

ODD SQUAD: DANCE LIKE NOBODY'S WATCHING gets A Geek Daddy nod of approval for not just being educational but also  also very entertaining.  It is a show which can bring the whole family together to enjoy and learn from it.  I'd recommend picking up a copy of this dvd to have handy for summer break, especially if you are looking to amuse some kids during a long car trip and have an in-vehicle or portable dvd player to take along for the ride.

For those of you interested in joining the ODD SQUAD here is a badge that can can personalized courtesy of PBS Kids:

Daniel Tiger Goes To School

Disclosure: I received a complimentary product from PBS Kids.  A Geek Daddy did not receive any financial compensation for this post.

Do you have children at home who may be getting ready to head to preschool, kindergarten or first grade as the summer wraps up.  If so your family will probably appreciate the new DVD being released by PBS KIDS on August 18, 2015 DANIEL GOES TO SCHOOL featuring stories from the popular The Fred Rogers Company's animated television series DANIEL TIGER'S NEIGHBORHOOD.  This series centers around 5 year old Daniel Tiger, who is the son of the original Daniel Striped Tiger from Mister Rogers' Neighborhood.  These shows also feature the children of other characters from Fred Rogers' Neighborhood of Make-Believe including Prince Wednesday (the son of King Friday and Queen Saturday), Katerina Kittycat (daughter of Henrietta Pussycat), O the Owl (nephew of X the Owl), and Miss Elaina (daughter of Lady Elaine Fairchild and Music Man Stan).  The stories in Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood involve topics that young children and their parents often encounter such as dealing with a new sibling, overcoming picky eating, and going to school.

With this new DVD, DANIEL GOES TO SCHOOL, youngsters can join Daniel Tiger and his friends as they head to school, where they discover that learning and using your imagination is grr-ific fun! It includes 8 fun-filled tales that will get kids excited about school and learning.  Some of the important lessons kids will learn from the adventures on DANIEL GOES TO SCHOOL include: everyone’s job is important and we all help in different ways, and, if you’re not successful at first, keep trying, and you’ll get better!  The DVD has a run time of approximately 100 minutes. The DANIEL GOES TO SCHOOL DVD has a run time of approximately 100 minutes and is best suited for children 3 to 6 years old includes the following stories: 

“A Trip to the Crayon Factory”

Daniel Tiger, Miss Elaina, and Katerina Kittycat take a fun trip to the factory to see how crayons are made but, O the Owl can’t come because he’s sick. At the factory, the kids watch the crayons being made, and Daniel looks and listens closely. Daniel has an idea to take pictures at the factory and give them to O at the end of the day, so that O can learn about crayons too! 

“Be a Vegetable Taster!”

Teacher Harriet introduces Daniel and his friends to the school’s vegetable garden and convinces them to pick out some healthy veggies for their snack. They explore the garden, picking and trying different vegetables…with mixed results!

“Line Leader Daniel”

The children are getting new classroom jobs at school. Daniel really wants to be line leader! When he doesn’t get the job he wanted, Daniel is disappointed. Soon he learns that all of the jobs are necessary to keep the classroom running smoothly.

“Problem Solver Daniel”

Daniel and Miss Elaina are playing with the blocks at school but they each want to build something different. They call Teacher Harriet over to help fix the problem, but she tells them to work out a solution without her. They do, and feel proud that they can figure things out all by themselves.

“The Class Votes”

At school, Daniel and his classmates get to choose their new class pet! Teacher Harriet explains that they can either get a bunny or a turtle. The kids learn what it means to “vote” and that sometimes it doesn’t always turn out your way. Luckily, ALL of the kids find something to love about their new pet, “Snowball”! 

“O Builds a Tower”

In the block corner at school, O the Owl is determined to use all of the blocks to build the tallest tower in the world. After many failed attempts, he is frustrated, but Teacher Harriet and O’s friends encourage him to try once again.

“Play Pretend”

Teacher Harriet shows the children a big cardboard box and asks them what they think it could be. Daniel and Miss Elaina have fun pretending the box is a space ship and a jungle boat, but O the Owl just sees a big cardboard box. With a little help from his friends, O discovers how much fun it is to pretend!

“Safety Patrol”

Today at school, the children are learning about traffic signs. Prince Tuesday comes for a special visit, wearing his crossing guard uniform. He takes the class on a walk through the Neighborhood and they practice their safety rules all along the way.

CLICK HERE for more information about ordering DANIEL GOES TO SCHOOL from PBS.  They are also offering a 15% off back-to-school discount on all PBS Kids DVDs until August 31, 2015 so now is a good time to peruse their catalog of kids oriented shows.  Also check out the two other The Fred Rogers Company shows, Peg + Cat and Odd Squad which are also some of our family's favorite shows on TV.  All three series produced from the Fred Rogers Company, Daniel Tiger, Peg + Cat and Odd Squad recently won Parents Choice Gold Awards.

PBS Airing Brand New Episodes of DANIEL TIGER'S NEIGHBORHOOD this Week

My kids have been pretty geeked this week because PBS is airing brand new episodes of one of their favorite tv shows, DANIEL TIGERS NEIGHBORHOOD.  My daughter actually quotes Daniel Tiger to us during "teachable moments" when we want her to do something like "eat a new food" or "try something new" so it has been a useful show to let our children watch.  In fact the other day when I was noticeably upset about something my daughter came up to me and said from the show "Daddy, when somethings seems bad turn it around and make something good." DANIEL TIGER'S NEIGHBORHOOD supports behaviors that as parents we are trying to encourage such as eat vegetables, brush their teeth, play outside, and make friends with other kids.  Of course, what else would you expect from a show that is based off of Mister Rogers. The show is actually produced by The Fred Rogers Company to follow-up on the themes and purpose of the original Mister Rogers' Neighborhood.

Unfortunately, Fred Rogers who hosted the children's educational program Mister Rogers Neighborhood from 1968 to 2001 passed away in 2003; but his mission to educate kids through children's television programming continues with DANIEL TIGERS NEIGHBORHOOD airing on PBS.  The animated show revolves around 4 year old Daniel Tiger, who is someone my 4 year old twins can really relate to themselves.    Daniel Tiger carries over the legacy from Mister Rogers' Neighborhood as he is the son of a character from that original show, the puppet Daniel Striped Tiger.  The new show also features cartoon characters that are meant to be the children of the puppets from the "Neighborhood of Make-Believe" in the original Mister Rogers tv show.  The children of Katerina Kittycat, O the Owl, and Prince Wednesday are featured in DANIEL TIGER. The Trolley also plays a big part in the new cartoon. I have to admit I always found the original puppets from Mister Rogers somewhat creepy, but these new animated versions are fun and entertaining compared to their predecessors.  Another fun tidbit is the show brings back a popular original character from Mr. Rogers in an animated Mr. McFeely the postman ... did you know "McFeely" was Fred Rogers middle name? In one of the episodes of DANIEL TIGER, Mr. McFeely saves the day!

Haven't seen an episode of DANIEL TIGER yet?  Check out this clip featuring Mrs. Rogers talking about how the new tv series continues her husband's legacy:

And here's a sample clip of the show where Mr. McFeely saves the day:

If you want to check out a full episode of the show online they periodically make some of the episodes FREE on iTunes or you can check out the PBS website.  DANIEL TIGER'S NEIGHBORHOOD is a fantastic program I highly recommend that promotes educational issues in an entertaining way for kids. This week all brand new episodes with the theme of PLAY DATE are airing on PBS.  Check them out!

For more information on the show, visit http://pbskids.org/daniel/